


I wanna ruin our friendship (we should be lovers instead)

by blazeofglory



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Costumes, Fluff, Halloween, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 03:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4945636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blazeofglory/pseuds/blazeofglory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Courfeyrac's Halloween parties are legendary, but Marius has come to be a little wary of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I wanna ruin our friendship (we should be lovers instead)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taliatheloser](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taliatheloser/gifts).



Marius had a bad feeling about Courfeyrac’s Halloween party. He had one every year, and it always went the same way: Marius always fucked it up. He never meant to, of course, but it was sort of unavoidable. They’d been friends for four years now, and three Halloweens. The first year, Marius had gotten much too drunk much too fast, and had confessed his whole sob story to Courfeyrac. He’d been understanding, of course, and overwhelmingly nice, and it had ended in him inviting Marius to live with him, but it was _embarrassing._ Not to mention that it was kind of a downer.

(“Courfeyrac, I can’t impose—”

“You’re my friend, you’re welcome here.”

There was a long stretch of silence, though the party raged on all around them.

“We barely know each other.”

“That’s changing, though, isn’t it?”

Marius fell a little in love.)

The second Halloween was even worse. Marius had thought it’d be funny to dress as Napoleon, but Enjolras hadn’t approved, so Courfeyrac offered a change of costume. It was already well into the night, and they’d both had a bit to drink, and they stumbled down the hall to Courfeyrac’s room. Somewhere between taking off the Napoleon costume and putting on the pirate costume that Courfeyrac had laying around, Marius tripped.

Like something out of a movie, Courfeyrac caught him.

There was kissing.

(“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

A quiet moan.

“Nevermind; of course this is a good idea.”

No more words for another hour.)

By the third Halloween, they still hadn’t talked about what happened. Marius wondered if Courfeyrac even remembered, but sometimes the way he looked at him… Marius had a feeling Courf hadn’t forgotten, and Marius certainly hadn’t either. He could still remember the feeling of his best friend’s lips against his, of soft hair between his fingers, and the sound of quiet sighs and stifled moans… He was sure that was something he’d never forget. But they were _friends_ , and friends only, so Marius made himself not think about it.

That Halloween, he was dating Cosette. She was lovely and perfect, and he knew that they could make each other happy. But that didn’t stop his eyes from lingering on Courfeyrac, no matter how hard he tried. Courfeyrac’s costume that year was… revealing. And Marius’ eyes had lingered. And Cosette had noticed.

She hadn’t been angry; they both wanted different things, it turned out. He wanted Courfeyrac. She wanted Eponine. That didn’t make it suck any less.

(“Marius, are you alright?”

“Yes, I—I’m fine. Absolutely fine.”

“Did Cosette just leave?”

Marius hesitated. Courfeyrac nodded.

Courfeyrac stayed with him the rest of the night.)

The fourth Halloween party was just days away. Courfeyrac, Enjolras, and Combeferre were going as the three musketeers. Marius had decided not to dress up. Courfeyrac hadn’t approved, but Marius had refused to get a new costume, and he hadn’t kept any of his old ones.

Courfeyrac had gone to look through his closet for costumes, and Marius had been waiting in the living room, but when Courfeyrac didn’t come back after five minutes, he got up to follow. Courfeyrac’s door was half-closed, so he didn’t see Marius standing there. But Marius could see him kneeling in front of his closet, a box pulled out and onto his lap. The ridiculously ruffled sleeve of the pirate costume was clenched in a tight fist.

Marius went back to the living room.

When Courfeyrac came back, he announced that he hadn’t found anything for Marius to wear. Marius’ heart clenched in his chest, and he remembered again how it had felt to kiss Courfeyrac, but he said nothing; he _did_ nothing.

“You two need to talk it through,” Cosette said patiently over coffee the next day. She was invited to the party too, of course. Her and Eponine were doing some sort of couple costume that Marius didn’t understand—he thought maybe Eponine was a vampire from YouTube show, and Cosette played the victim? Or something? Whatever, that part didn’t really matter.

“We _can’t_ ,” Marius protested, barely resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands. “It’s been _years_ , Cosette, I can’t just bring it up now. He—he must think I’ve gotten over it.”

Cosette heaved a long-suffering sigh. “Maybe he doesn’t want you to get over it.”

“You’re biased,” he responded, shaking his head. “He doesn’t like me like that.”

“You don’t _know_ that.”

“I do, though!” Marius was getting flustered now, color rising in his cheeks. His awful, embarrassing crush on his best friend-slash-roommate wasn’t a topic he liked to ruminate on often. “He goes on dates and things, and tells me all about them. If he liked me, he’d date _me._ ”

“He doesn’t know you like him though,” Cosette pointed out gently. “Neither of you can know anything for sure until you talk about it.”

By the time Marius left to head home, his head was spinning. He knew Courfeyrac better than he knew anyone else in the world, wouldn’t he know if Courfeyrac liked him? Wouldn’t there have been signs over the years? Courfeyrac always went after what he wanted; if he wanted Marius, wouldn’t he have gone for it? As much as he tried to convince himself that Cosette was wrong, though, the more he wondered if she could be right.

Maybe Courfeyrac didn’t want to jeopardize their friendship—that was Marius’ excuse, after all. Maybe Courfeyrac had hid his feelings for fear of making Marius uncomfortable. Maybe he thought about that second Halloween a lot too.

The idea of talking to Courfeyrac terrified Marius. He was an awkward person, which he accepted about himself, but that made social interactions… hard sometimes. He got anxious and worried, and he always worked himself up and got too upset. He was very, very good at panicking.

What would he say?

(He knew what he wanted to say: “Courfeyrac, I’ve been in love with you forever.”)

He’d never have the balls.

Halloween came way too fast.

Marius helped Courfeyrac with decorations and party food all day, just like the past two Halloweens. Courf got in his costume hours ahead of time, too excited to be stopped—there was just something about jack-o-lanterns and candy and costumes that turned him into a kid every year.

When the guests started arriving, Marius slipped away.

No one was watching when he went into Courfeyrac’s room, and he locked the door behind him so no one could follow him in. He pulled out the same box he’d seen Courfeyrac holding just days before, and in it, the pirate costume.

Courfeyrac would understand, wouldn’t he? Surely, he’d know… Maybe Marius wouldn’t even have to say anything at all.

The costume still fit perfectly, which he’d found just as odd the last time he’d worn it. Briefly, he wondered when Courfeyrac had even worn it himself. But thinking about Courfeyrac only started up the worries again, and he found himself pacing at the foot of his friend’s bed, trying to work himself down from panic.

_Everything would be fine._ It had to be. Marius was determined not to fuck this Halloween up.

When he finally left the room, pirate hat and plastic sword and all, he caught Courfeyrac’s eye across the room immediately. For a second, the other man looked confused, like he’d wondered where Marius had gone the last half hour. Then he noticed the costume, and his eyes lit up and a grin took over his face. Marius blushed, but didn’t look away.

Marius started to head over, hoping for the best, but he was intercepted by Joly and Bossuet, who were both delighted to share their favorite pirate-themed puns with him. Once they’d wandered off to go join Musichetta at the drinks table, Marius looked for Courfeyrac again, but he was absorbed in a conversation with the other two musketeers. Instead, Marius turned to Cosette.

“Nice costume,” she said in greeting, raising her eyebrows. She hadn’t been around two Halloweens ago, but he’d told her the story and what he’d seen the other day. She knew exactly what he was doing. “Have you talked to Courfeyrac yet?”

Marius shook his head. “I was ready, but—well. Now I’m not.”

Eponine came over with drinks for her and Cosette, and caught the tail end of their conversation.

“He wants to fuck you,” she supplied helpfully, grinning as Marius turned bright red. She turned to Cosette. “We are talking about Courfeyrac, right?”

“Yes, we are,” Cosette answered, grinning back. “And we _know_ he wants to fuck Marius. We just don’t know if he wants to love and cherish him forever.”

“I thought that much was obvious.”

“You two are _biased_ ,” Marius insisted again, sneaking a glance over at Courfeyrac again. The musketeer costumes were way over the top, but of course he pulled it off flawlessly. Marius was just as into it as he was into the skimpy one from the year before. What had that even been—sexy firefighter? Slutty male nurse? Something red and tiny, he knew that much. This, though, covered all skin, but Courfeyrac cut one impressive figure… Marius looked away quickly, realizing he had been staring.

“We’re not, though!” Cosette exclaimed, waving her hands and almost spilling her drink. “Look at you, mooning after him. He looks at you the exact same way.”

Marius shook his head resolutely. “I’ve never seen that.”

“You don’t stare at him while he’s looking at you, do you?” Eponine pointed out. “He does it when you’re looking away. Like right now.”

Marius turned his head so fast he almost got whiplash, but sure enough—Courfeyrac, all the way across the room, was looking right at him. He looked a bit abashed to be caught out, but his smile was genuine. In fact, he—he was so beautiful, it took Marius’ breath away. He watched as Courfeyrac said something to Enjolras and Combeferre, then started making his way down the hall, and somehow he _knew_ he was supposed to follow.

Eponine and Cosette whispered encouragements that Marius hardly heard as he followed after Courfeyrac, only a second behind him when he stepped into Courfeyrac’s bedroom. He shut the door behind them, and though they could still hear the noise of the party, it felt quiet. It felt _intimate_.

“You look good as a pirate,” Courfeyrac said, sounding as fond and casual as normal as he sat down on the edge of his bed. Marius blushed and sat down next to him. “How did you know I still had it?”

“I, uh, I saw you with it,” Marius answered sheepishly, glancing over at his friend. “A few days ago.”

Courfeyrac was quiet for a long moment, staring down at the carpet. “I didn’t think you’d want to wear it again.”

“That was a good Halloween,” Marius said quietly, not daring to look at Courfeyrac’s face this time. He could feel the other man looking at him though, his gaze heavy on Marius’ face.

“You don’t regret it?” Courfeyrac asked, sounding more uncertain than Marius had heard him in all the years and Halloweens they’d known each other. “Marius, I thought you regretted it. You never said anything, and then Cosette…”

Marius gathered his courage and looked back up at Courfeyrac. He had to tell the truth; this was his chance. He was not going to fuck it up this time. “I didn’t know what to say. I—I still don’t. But I think about it all the time.”

The smile on Courfeyrac’s face helped quell Marius’ nerves.

“I think about it too,” Courfeyrac admitted, his knee bumping Marius’. “That was my favorite Halloween.”

“What about this Halloween?” Marius asked quietly, hope blossoming in his chest. He knew his eyes weren’t deceiving him when he saw Courfeyrac’s gaze drop down to his lips and back up.

Courfeyrac didn’t answer the question. Instead, he posed another: “Marius, do you want to go out on a date?”

“On a day other than Halloween?” Marius was grinning now, and already leaning closer. “Yeah, I like that idea.”

Finally, there was more kissing.

(They could hear the sounds of the sheets rustling below them and the party in the other room, loud music and Grantaire laughing and Bahorel yelling, but their focus was on each other.

“This is a good idea.”

A breathless laugh and another kiss.

“Yeah, it really is.”

Marius falls a little more in love.)


End file.
